Nominations open for Blue Badge Access Awards 2023

The Blue Badge Access Awards, the only awards to recognise accessibility for disabled people in the hospitality industry, have opened submissions for 2023.

The awards, founded by Fiona Jarvis and Robin Sheppard, celebrate international hotels, restaurants, leisure and tourism venues that provide “accessibility with style”.

Recent figures from the Business Disability Forum/Open Inclusion 2022 revealed that 45% of disabled customers said their choice of hospitality venues were limited by their disability or access needs.

Accessible tourism in England is worth £15.3b a year, according to Visit Britain.

The official launch night for the Blue Badge Access Awards will take place on 25 April at Sun Street hotel in London’s Shoreditch.

Nominations for the 12 categories that reward best accessibility in hotels, restaurants, historic buildings, bars and any public venue within hospitality can be made by the public, design professionals, venue managers or owners of industry businesses.

For the first time, nominations are also open for best accessible spa.

There will be two toilet awards, one of which is an award for the lack of accessibility, aptly named the Ludicrous Loo award.

Fiona Jarvis, founder and chief executive of Blue Badge Style, said: “If you have gone the extra mile to make your venue accessible to everyone, and in doing so you have treated disabled guests as customers rather than ‘compliance issues’, then you are just what we are looking for.

Robin Sheppard, co-founder and president of Bespoke Hotels, added: “We want to drive the industry to replace the Disability Discrimination Act-compliant rooms and re-title them ‘Liberty Rooms’. Disability is not only about wheelchair access: 9% of disabled people are wheelchair users, and 75% of disabled people have hidden impairments. We need to look after all our disabled guests. Many accessible hotel bedrooms can look more like a hospital than a hotel. This needs to change.”

Nominations, which can be made here, close on 18 September.